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Once in a while (believe it or not), we misplace a message. If you do not get a response from us within a few days, please send us your message again!S80 review in AutocarForwarded copy of a letter to Autocar magazine:Gentlemen, After reading yet again (for what must be the hundredth time) about how the concepts of performance and handling were completely unknown at Gothenburg until just recently ("Volvo S80," 21 October), I'd like to put forth some Volvo road test comments (from 1984 and 1985) by a highly-respected car magazine. On the 740GLT: "[It] turns into each corner crisply and accurately ... much higher handling and roadholding ability than Volvos are credited with ..." On the 760: "...7.7 seconds to 60 mph is enough to make any non-M BMW look fairly sick ... a genuinely high-performance car ... [Its] cornering ability almost matches the astonishing performance." What magazine was so impressed with these Volvos' roadholding and acceleration? Autocar. My point is this: I have nothing against any of Volvo's current models but, contrary to The Gospel According to Saint Peter (Horbury), Volvo knew long ago how to make their cars go, corner and stop -- long before Mr. Horbury's arrival at Gothenburg. P.S.: I own a Volvo 740 Turbo, but I'm not an antique dealer -- nor have I ever owned a Labrador.
Sincerely, Reader newsJust finished reading your latest issue and I think it is the greatest one produced! You really produced an "action packed" publication. The trip to Eugene sounded great; my kind of place.We took the 122 to Knoxville for the VCOA National Meet during Labor Day weekend. Talk about hot -- and my A/C went on the blink (leaking hose); not a friendly eight-hour drive! It was a small event with about sixty cars in the concours and maybe one hundred fifty registered members. I think the turnout was small because of the [holiday] weekend and that they had had a meet there two years ago. We did manage to take Best in Class and Best in Show. Last weekend, we went to Rockleigh for the Volvo Family Reunion. This annual one day affair, sponsored by Volvo, is a must. Every Volvo product from cars to trucks is on display; every department has an area for visitors to stop by. The most interesting was the Cannondale bike show, which we always enjoy. The new S80 was the queen and they were parked everywhere. Volvo had set aside an area for luxury car comparison -- a Mercedes and a S80, a Lexus and a S80, and etc... Between each car was a comparison chart on the vital statistics; maybe about a dozen luxury cars that will compete with the new S80. They also had a display of about ten identical C70 convertibles; each had the top in a different position, from top down to top up. There was a concours of about two hundred cars; if you entered a car in the concours, you received a judging form to select a class winner from each class; i.e.: judging by your peers! There were about forty 122s, lots of very trick 200 and 700 series cars but low numbers on 1800s and 544s. There was also a class for race cars. We managed a Best in Class and a Best in Show. We are still debating about coming to Northern California for the VCOA 1999 Meet; depends on where VSA will hold a Meet next year.
Again, great issue. Congrats on those "Bests," Jerry! We hope we get a chance to meet you in person if you make it out to the west coast. Club vs. Web editorialAs the author of the July letter that you made reference to, I would like to point out it was dated March 16th. Hopefully things are changing in a positive way at VSA. At least I hope so. Am sorry to see Jon as editor go but that does not surprise me in the way things were worded is some of the newsletters...In one of my letters to the club, I put in the word to reprint the better articles form past issues. The Model T Club of America has reprinted some of their better articles three times in twenty years with each version becoming better. Those articles, with supporting material, now are printed as a five-pound book for $40. It's the Bible of that Ford model. I am involved in a variety of marque clubs and enjoy all of them. I believe a VSA club member summed up the situation when he said, "I used to go to the meets to look at the cars -- now I go to visit friends." A newcomer that is trying to get his car running is likely to be disappointed. Luckily, a Volvo is pretty straightforward car. Currently, I am enjoying being on the E-mail list for the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club. It fascinating what is asked and the answers that are forthcoming. Someone asked how to clean out a rusty gas tank. All kinds of answers: using Coke and molasses will work and not ruin any paint; Phorsphic acid is normally used, but if you have a paint job that you want to keep you got to be careful... It was great with lots of hands-on experience -- all in the space of a few days instead of months with the current VSA method.
Well, I want to get back to your on line interactive magazine. Keep up the good work. One of the reasons I have not been active with my 1800ES is the downer I have experienced with some individuals with the VSA Club. Thanks for writing, Wally. Jon Keebler is indeed retiring as S-E-ES editor and will be missed by many. There are several Volvo E-mail lists and bulletin boards listed on our Links page.
More...Reading your piece on VSA and the Internet has provoked a few thoughts. I quit VSA after several years because I felt I was putting in much more than I was getting out. There is no limit to what members can contribute, but there seem to be strict limits on what the club can do for members. Thus it does not surprise me that club officials fear "giving the club away" on the Internet.It may take a few more years for them to realize that the the club and SEES are two different things. The Internet will soon make SEES obsolete. If I were still in the club, I would bring this to the attention of board members, knowing that it would be ignored. Then I would go and start my own web site. Hmmm... guess that already happened. [The writer is owner of Goodspeed's 1800 Newsletter.] The club, of course, has something that can't be found on the Internet -- people and cars that you can see and touch in real time and space. Too bad the club leadership does not understand the value of its members. If they did, the club would be much larger and more prosperous than it is today.
I don't see any resolution to this contest, because the contest exists only in the narrow minds of those who feel they must control all aspects of "their" club. Only if they "give away" the club to the members will its potential be realized. Glenn, we're in agreement with everything you say except that S-E-ES is not "obsolete" to all the VSA members who are not on line. More...I agree. As president and one of the founders of the Cactus Chapter VCOA, I find the job fun, but members expect more.The Internet is a great medium, as you said, for the worldwide exchange of ideas. Of course, it is not without faults. I have found responses to questions on the Internet so far off that I was embarrassed for those who had responded when I respond with the correct information, and acknowledge my source as a book that should be common to all Volvo nuts and in their libraries.
I like your page. Keep it up. Reply from one of our Associate Editors: Mr.Pace, What you did not state, but what I hope you can see, the fault of the Internet is: it gives everyone "their 10 seconds in the spotlight." They can can type most anything they want (I suspect sometimes from inside a closet). I read some of the erroneous responses for entertainment on some of the boards myself.
We do strain to only have correct info in VClassics.
More...Hi! Thanks for writing about the Volvo GP. It was truly the greatest Volvo weekend I've been to in the US!Your points about VSA are right on; they're getting paranoid and left behind with that attitude. The Internet is here to stay; you either learn or sayonara... I also met that guy they bashed (the one who asked for restoration help) and he turned to be a real Volvo nut. He's restoring an old P1800 PLUS he built a 122GT to race at Road America. He DROVE his race car to the track -- and home! My hat off to him.
I enjoy reading your NetMag, PS: I counted 14 customers among 27 racers at the GP. Not bad... I'm slowly learning more about this web stuff, too. More...My compliments on the tact and diplomacy that is present in this issue's Soapbox. I am not a member of VSA and, for various reasons, do not feel inclined to become one.Folks at the VSA dinner on Saturday night at Barefoot Bay heard Bob Berglund say, among other things, that a fellow had just come up to him to say he'd not attended a VSA event in twenty years but was having a great time at this event. I was the fellow he referred to. The event twenty years prior was a VSA meet in Danbury, CT. My memory of the people there is not a warm one. I did enjoy very much the recent event in Elkhart Lake at Road America and found a large number of people in the club to be delightful to interact with. That was a very pleasant surprise considering the Danbury memory. I will admit that it's hard to say if my perceptions of these two incidents, spaced twenty years apart, are based on reality or just my perception. While it may not actually be their intention, Mr. Keebler and others appear to be snubbing the younger or newer members who, it seems, need their help the most. I fail to understand how VSA is to continue to grow under this approach. If they don't feel obliged to personally lend a hand, I guess that's fine. But why do they also feel it necessary to obstruct members with a need or two? Ultimately, you either are the problem or the solution... Has the whole thing gotten out of hand? Possibly. The fact remains that the murmuring in the shadows confirms that all is not contentment within the ranks of the VSA. There seems to a "naked emperor" (not singling any one person out here!) demanding compliments about his new threads. As one who has been consulted about Volvos by many in my area and across the country (initially by phone and now via the "net"), I do find it worth suffering the inquiries about the silly hooks on the "B" pillars. Eventually, with a bit of patience, we usually arrive at the point where the real concern lies. Satisfactory suggestions and/or solutions stem from this and everyone is a winner. When we are gone, how will we be remembered? Did we help those around us? Or did we merely live as one whose own agendas were the only concern? VSA Big Boys: Listen up... Your involvement and efforts at the Gran Prix are very much appreciated. There can be no doubt on this. But with regard to the Internet issue and the requests for tech info: you have a train ticket in your pocket that will take you forward in the world. If you wish to stand on the station platform and watch the tail-markers fade in the distance, that is your choice. Don't however, prevent others, from making their connections! (Pun most certainly intended.) The Internet is a tool capable of spreading tremendous goodwill. Use the tools available to you, and they'll work well for you and be a boon to those around you. Ultimately it would, in the case of Volvo Sports America, lead to enhanced exposure to a noble breed of Motor Car and an increase in membership.
Sincerely, Mark, while we find VSA's published attitude towards the Internet regrettable, we are certain that no one is willfully attempting to obstruct members, junior or senior, in any way. Bob Berglund and Jon Keebler are energetically trying to make the club work to the best of their considerable abilities. Let us grant them that, even as we disagree with some of what is done or not done. Much good would result from the nomination and election of new board members with as much commitment to club affairs as Bob and Jon, who, we believe, would welcome their support and new ideas. For all the "murmuring in the shadows" (we hear those here, too -- that's not just your perception), most club members cannot be bothered to return nominations when requested -- now, what is cause and what is effect?
More...I find it hard to believe that a club would NOT want to use the Internet.I live in Northern Michigan, where Volvos are few and far between. As a fledgling Volvo nut with a 122 "work in progress," I joined VCOA a few years ago to quench my thirst for knowledge. The newsletter was really nice, but it was not nearly enough information to get me going. When I finally got my computer, I was delighted to find that VCOA had a web site with a very active mailing list (now operating within the BrickBoard). I could now converse with experienced owners, find used and new parts and stay stoked about my car without having to wait for club events (which are frequently quite far away) or the newsletter. And when the time comes that I can attend a club gathering, I'll really enjoy meeting face to face with some of the folks who've helped me out.
Without the Internet, my enthusiasm for VCOA would not be what it is today. Their use of the medium is to be applauded. I wonder how many people have joined or renewed through their website? We also find it hard to believe, Greg, but it does seem to be the case. We also enjoyed the VCOA list and congratulate Steve Seekins for continuing it on the BrickBoard when the original was discontinued due to technical problems.
More...Very well put! Although I have owned Volvos since 1974 and have owned an 1800ES since 1990, I didn't get around to joining VSA until this year. About the same time, I also finally got around to getting hooked up to the Web. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the little flame war developing between the VSA editors and the Web-oriented Volvo lovers!You both have much to offer, and you're right -- trying to not "give away" the club could ultimately result in losing the club anyway. This is a major paradigm shift for the VSA folks, and I've run into similar resistance with members at my local VSA chapter. My advice is to try to be understanding. I believe they'll come around when they see how successful you are.
I'm involved in a project to put a V-8 in my ES. The Web has allowed me
to find people with knowledge and interest in my project all over the country. I'm far more "connected" to the vintage Volvo community than I
would be just through VSA, and in a very short period of time. The second-rate enchiladas with my local buddies are fun and informative, but they're just not into my "chop it up and make it into a hotrod" ideas. That's OK -- they're still a lot of fun and great sources of local and restoration type info. For everything else, I go to the Web. Don, perhaps all the noise about this issue is just the sound of a paradigm shifting without a clutch (apologies to Scott Adams...).
More...I must agree about VSA's tunnel vision. I joined to learn about my "new" ES. I found out about VSA on the net. I printed their application off the net. I get my first issue [of S-E-ES] and it tells me 1) the Internet is a waste of their valuable time, 2) they will never divulge any of their hoarded knowledge about my car, because I haven't been a member for the last twenty years when it was all printed, 3) the Internet is bad.Well, I gave them my money to join, and I get most of my info off the net. Will I renew? I doubt it. I don't enjoy stories and pictures of the two or three members in the East that went on a road trip.
I wonder if the club is growing? The last issue was bitching about a lack of involvement by the club members ... I wonder why? Don't give up on it completely yet, Mark. The club magazine is what a few people make it, but the local chapters are what the local members make them, and some have their own newsletters. We agree there's some irony in your situation... Utah wagonI arrived at your site far too late in the restoration project of my 1965 220, but I have retrieved some of your archived pieces that were quite helpful not only technically, but philosophically as well. It sounds like I'm not the only one with a spouse who doesn't understand why I spend so much time in the garage, and it's always nice to read about kindred spirits.In scanning the gallery, I noticed what I thought was a shortage of good wagons, so here are a couple shots for your use if you deem them worthy. I've had this one for about ten years, and it has been off the road undergoing sporadic work for the last three. It feels great to be behind the wheel again, and I drive it almost daily. It's still not completely finished -- I wonder if it ever will be -- but things are going pretty well so far. I've had two other 122s prior to the wagon, and I think I'm starting to learn what makes them tick.
Thanks for your efforts, and please keep up the good work. Your site is a pleasure to visit.
Thanks for the pics, Fred -- we deem them entirely worthy. We are also curious as to why a Utah car sports Cayman Island license plates. Sounds like a potential story, there... Back to the Top |
Uh, just for the record, Marsha wishes it to be known that she does understand exactly what goes on in our garage and has emerged therefrom grease-besplattered more than once. You must have read someone else's work in the archive, right?